


right in front of you

by lesmiserablol



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Dorks in Love, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Canon, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26458036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “I already have my eyes set on a certain beautiful person.”“You do?” Zuko asks.“Yep,” Sokka confirms, suddenly more interested in watching the clouds above them than looking at Zuko. “Yeah he - or, you know, whoever - is definitely very beautiful. And a very good friend.” He shuts his mouth before he can start rambling, his mind supplying him with all the reasons why he likes Zuko so much.“Yeah?” Zuko grins, nudging his knee against Sokka’s, and Sokka nearly jumps. Is the Fire Lord...flirting with him?(Sokka is in love. Zuko is also in love. Cue misunderstandings.)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 81
Kudos: 888





	right in front of you

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, what's this? One of my many WIPs that have been collecting dust for a hot minute? Time to release it into the world? Yes.
> 
> Did I yet again get the title from a Celine Dion song that has for some unknown reason been stuck in my head for two days? Also yes.

Sokka hears the quiet footsteps approaching from behind and he smiles, not looking up from Katara’s letter that he is rereading under the shade of his favorite tree on the edge of the palace gardens. “That was quick,” he says lightly. 

Zuko sighs heavily and practically flops down on the ground next to Sokka, pressing his back against the tree and his arm against Sokka’s. “That meeting was the longest fifteen minutes of my life.”

"Fifteen minutes?" Sokka puts the letter down and looks over to his friend. “Color me impressed. What got you to stay for so long?”

“It was nothing I did, it was all her,” Zuko corrects. “She talked at me for maybe fourteen minutes straight, barely pausing long enough to take a breath, and when I finally got a word in she glared at me. So I excused myself and tried not to run all the way here.”

Sokka whistles. “Wow, that’s a new one. Also, ‘she’? Don’t tell me your advisors are trying to set you up with a woman again.”

“They haven’t given up on the idea yet." Zuko scowls at the sky. "Sure, they have been finding more potential male suitors for me now, but every now and then they’ll throw in a female as if to see if I’ll change my mind if they catch me off guard.”

Sokka laughs. “Those idiots.”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Tell me about it. I have a meeting scheduled in an hour, I’m willing to bet it’s another woman.”

“Are the girls at least beautiful?” Sokka asks, distracted by the way the light breeze catches the loose strands hanging out of Zuko’s top knot, his Fire Lord headpiece in place.

Zuko glances at him. “You would probably think so,” he says, his voice quiet. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Sokka says quickly, throwing an arm around his friend’s shoulders and trying not to enjoy the close contact too much. As much as he indulges himself in his (massive) crush by spending so much time with his friend, he doesn’t want to be too obvious. Zuko’s advisors are trying to marry him off, for La’s sake. It’s probably not in Sokka’s best interest to allow himself to get his hopes up, to let himself believe he might have a chance. 

“Why doesn’t it matter?” Zuko asks curiously, and Sokka desperately tries to backpedal.

“Uh,” he starts, mind racing. What was he just telling himself about not being too obvious or getting his hopes up? He can’t remember. “Well, I already have my eyes set on a certain beautiful person.”

“You do?” Zuko asks. 

“Yep,” Sokka confirms, suddenly more interested in watching the clouds above them than looking at Zuko. “Yeah he - or, you know, whoever - is definitely very beautiful. And a very good friend.” He shuts his mouth before he can start rambling, his mind unhelpfully supplying him with all the reasons why he likes Zuko so much. Whoever gets to marry him has _no idea_ how lucky they are. They have been friends for six years, and Sokka still finds new things to love about Zuko all the time. No stranger could possibly understand.

“Yeah?” Zuko grins, nudging his knee against Sokka’s, and Sokka nearly jumps. Is the Fire Lord...flirting with him? 

_ Wouldn’t be the first time _ , a little voice in his head reminds him, thinking of lingering glances and warm hands and- 

Again, Zuko is supposed to be getting married! To someone who will lead the Fire Nation with him!  _ He doesn’t really want you that way, he needs a fancy nobleman slash trophy husband, _ another voice interrupts. Sokka is struggling to find where he can fit in this equation, would the Fire Nation be okay with their leader being involved with someone from another nation? Would they turn their noses at a member of the Royal Family frequently being absent for weeks at a time to be in the South Pole with his tribe?

Now he’s getting carried away, thinking about marriage and titles and...Sokka clears his throat and pulls his arm away from Zuko’s shoulders. Zuko frowns as Sokka stands up, gripping the letter tightly in his hands. 

“Yeah,” Sokka says, and his voice sounds far away and hollow to him. “Um, I’m going back inside, I still need to respond to Katara."

“Okay,” Zuko says, and does he look...disappointed? Sokka shakes the thought from his mind. “I’ll see you at dinner?”

"Sure. Don't go falling in love with any strangers while I'm gone."

Sokka does his best not to look back as he walks away from Zuko, his feet carrying him to the room that years ago he claimed for his trips to the Fire Nation. Leaning against the closed door, he shakily holds up the letter to reread the last few lines that have been swimming in his mind for days.

_ Sokka, I love you, and I want you to be happy. I think you should talk to Zuko about how you feel. You may be surprised by what happens.  _

Sokka sighs and wishes he could set the letter ablaze in his hands like Zuko does when he wants to get a laugh out of Sokka. Instead, he leaves it on his desk, not actually in the mood to respond right now. 

He lies down on his bed with another sigh and stares at the ceiling above him. He will be happy for Zuko. He’s not going to throw a fit that he can’t have him when Zuko could be happy with someone else. 

As much as he tries to convince himself of this, the thought still leaves an ache in his chest. 

* * *

Sokka wakes up to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He opens his eyes groggily, confused as to where he is. He sits up and rubs a hand over his face before glancing out the window. The sun is low in the sky, maybe a half hour away from sunset, and he realizes he must have fallen asleep. 

Another knock on his door, and he remembers why he woke up in the first place. He walks to the door and opens it with a slight yawn. 

Zuko is standing in the hallway, smiling so brightly that it throws Sokka off for just a moment. 

“Hi,” he says after a few moments when it becomes apparent that Zuko isn’t going to speak first. His voice is rough from his nap and he clears his throat. 

“Hey,” Zuko responds quickly, his smile fading for a moment. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Sokka waves a hand dismissively. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I was wondering if you were still going to make it to dinner?” he asks, his tone strangely formal.

“Oh. Well, I don’t know,” Sokka says, looking away. The thought of being alone with Zuko reminds him of everything that happened that afternoon, and the memory tugs at his heart strings. 

“Because if you want, I made a picnic!” Zuko announces, gesturing at the basket at his feet. 

Sokka blinks from his friend to the full basket that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, and he finds it impossible to come up with an excuse to not join him, so he nods. “Yeah okay. Lead the way.”

Zuko’s formality disappears and he beams again. He grabs the basket with one hand and uses the other to take Sokka’s hand and lead him down the hallway. 

This is fine. They’ve held hands before. They do this. This isn’t out of the ordinary for Zuko and Sokka. But Sokka is having a hard time not letting his heart break when he feels the familiar warmth in his hand, the anchoring weight that he knows he would follow into battle.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Sokka asks, breaking the silence to avoid thinking any more cliches about the love he has for Zuko. 

“Me? Oh,” Zuko glances at him. “I’ve been thinking. About something. Someone, actually, and I’ve come to a decision.”

When he doesn’t elaborate, Sokka raises an eyebrow. “Very specific.”

Zuko laughs, squeezing his hand for a moment. “You’ll see.”

“I’m assuming it’s something good?” Sokka asks as they reach the turtleduck pond. He's not sure if Zuko actually led them here or if their feet just automatically brought them to the edge of the water. He lets go of Zuko’s hand quickly as they sit down and Zuko begins pulling out the food. 

“Oh, you could say that,” Zuko muses. 

“Dude, stop being so cryptic, you’re starting to sound like your uncle. What’s going on?” Sokka asks. 

Zuko stops what he’s doing and looks up, his gaze so intense that it's nearly startling. “Sokka...I’m in love with someone.”

A punch to the gut. “You’re...what? Huh? How?”  That’s not exactly the question Sokka wanted to ask, but he’s panicking a little (a lot) at the moment, give him a break. 

Zuko laughs, and Sokka is already jealous of this stranger who gets to hear this laugh every day for the rest of his life. Does this person even make Zuko laugh as much as Sokka does? Sokka hopes not. He works hard at making Zuko think he is funny. 

“How? I’m not entirely sure, actually. I just thought about it and realized, ‘Oh, I’m in love with this person, and that means something’. Really, I’ve known for a while, but I have been doing nothing about it and I am going to change that.”

Sokka blinks. “You have? You are?”

“Yes,” Zuko nods. “And I know that it isn’t what my advisors had planned on, but I think they’ll come around to agreeing with my decision.”

Sokka has a sinking feeling. Didn't he explicitly tell Zuko to not fall in love with any strangers while he was gone? And now this? 

He wonders who is to blame. Did Zuko sneak off into the city and fall in love with a random Fire Nation citizen on the streets? Was his meeting this afternoon with some man who swept him off his feet? Did Zuko run into the attractive gardener that was recently hired? 

Come to think of it, he can't decide if he actually wants to know who it is or not. The truth might be too painful.

Sokka tries to keep his expression neutral. “I see.”

“You do?” Zuko asks excitedly. 

“Yeah, of course,” Sokka says hollowly. “You’re in love with someone. You probably want to date them now.” He thinks of future trips to the Fire Nation, of having to be a third wheel to Zuko and the lucky bastard who gets to be with him for the rest of their life.

“Exactly!” Zuko says, beaming. “So you agree?”

“That you should date the person that you’re in love with?” Sokka frowns.

“Yes, do you think they’ll say yes? Do you think they feel the same way about me?”

“I don’t know.” Sokka’s throat feels very tight, and he stands up abruptly. “I don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to about this.”

He’s not sure why the silence that follows is so heavy, but Zuko looks crestfallen, and Sokka kicks himself. Can he really not pull himself together for long enough to be a good friend to Zuko to talk with him about his crush? Except it’s not even a crush, Zuko said _love_ , this is the real deal...

He opens his mouth and tries to say something, but the words don’t come. Zuko won’t look at him. 

“I’m sorry, Sokka,” Zuko says slowly. “I guess I just...misread some things.”

Sokka sighs, because it’s not Zuko’s fault that Sokka is struggling to support him in his love life. “It’s not you, it’s me who should be sorry. I guess I just...need some time,” he says vaguely. 

Zuko nods. “I completely understand. I know you and Suki just broke up...well, I guess it was a year ago, but I wasn’t sure how soon was too soon, so I’ve been waiting-“

“Hold up,” Sokka says suddenly, meeting Zuko’s eyes again to frown at him. “Me and Suki? We broke up way longer than a year ago. But what does Suki have to do with anything?”

Zuko looks as confused as Sokka feels. No, that’s probably not possible, Sokka feels extremely confused at the moment. 

“You said you needed time...time after your last relationship before you can start a new one, right?” 

Sokka opens and closes his mouth several times. “Who says anything about waiting to start a new relationship?” he asks, hoping his tone tells Zuko that he is definitely _not_ opposed to starting a new relationship, at least not if it is with a certain Fire Lord. 

Zuko is frowning at him, and then realization dawns on his face. “Sokka, who do you think I was talking about just now? The person that I’m in love with?”

Sokka liked it better when he was confused. It was a good distraction from the heartbreak. “Well. I don't know, but I have my theories. Don't tell me it's the new gardener."

Zuko blinks at him, and then he smiles for a few moments before he starts laughing. Sokka watches as he leans forward, clutches his sides, his whole body shaking with laughter.

“Listen, usually I understand why people laugh around me, but you’re going to have to spell this one out to me,” Sokka says. 

Zuko gets up to stand in front of him. His good eye is watery with tears of laughter, his shoulders are still shaking, and he has a wide smile on his face as he grabs Sokka’s hands in his own. He looks absolutely perfect. 

“Sokka, I am not in love with the gardener, or with the woman from this morning, or with the man from last week, or with anyone else in the world except for you."

Sokka’s jaw drops before he can help it. He blinks. Zuko is still smiling at him, looking shy, but he’s not taking it back. He’s not about to pull the rug from under Sokka, not about to say it was all a joke. His face has the same level of sincerity that Sokka is lucky enough to see when he’s watching the turtleducks, or calming a panicked servant, or waving at a kid in the streets of the city. It’s raw, it’s vulnerable, and it’s beautiful. 

Sokka closes his mouth. “You what?”

Zuko gives his hands a light squeeze. “I love you, Sokka. I am very much in love with you. I thought you knew that, and you were turning me down.”

“Believe me,” Sokka scoffs quickly. “If I knew that, I would not have been acting like a child. I am definitely in love with you, Zuko.”

Zuko’s eyes light up. “You are?”

Sokka nods quickly. “One hundred percent. No, one thousand percent. Whatever. The point is, I am super in love with you, and I would very much like to kiss you now.”

Zuko blinks, surprised, but then he nods enthusiastically and meets Sokka halfway. It’s clumsy, they’re both smiling too widely against each other’s lips, and his brain is still working so hard to try and catch up to the situation that he forgets to run his fingers through Zuko’s hair like he always dreamed of doing when he allowed himself to imagine this moment. But it’s still a perfect kiss.

He pulls back after a few moments, enjoying the close up view, and for once he doesn’t hold himself back from brushing a piece of hair behind Zuko’s ear. “How long have you been in love with me?”

“I’ve known for a while now," Zuko admits. "But I’ve been putting it off. This afternoon when I met the second potential suitor of the day, I was distracted the whole time because I kept thinking about you, and what we would do when I found you afterward, and how we would laugh about it. But then when I couldn’t find you, I felt empty inside. I missed you, and it just made me think how pointless this whole suitor thing is when I know no one will ever make me as happy as you do.” 

Sokka whistles. “Okay, yeah, pretty cool speech. I gotta say, I always felt relieved when you didn’t care for any of the suitors. I didn’t think I could compare to them, though, so I never did anything. That was stupid of me.”

Zuko shakes his head. “We were both stupid.”

Sokka laughs. “Now what? What are you going to tell your advisors? What are they going to say?”

Zuko bites his lip, but then shakes his head again. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

“You are so cheesy,” Sokka groans. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Zuko’s eyes light up. “Yeah. I am pretty lucky.”

**Author's Note:**

> You know the drill. Please leave comments if you enjoyed! Read my other Zukka fics for some more dorks in love. [Follow me on tumblr for even more dorks in love](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/). Wear a mask. Take it sleazy.


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